Saturday, June 20, 2015

Golfers and railfans alike are talking about one of
the unusual features of the Chambers Bay golf course in Washington—host to this
year’s U.S. open—the trains that run besides the 16th and 17th holes.

The BNSF line between Seattle and Portland hosts about 60 trains a day, including Amtrak. Half of those run between 8 AM and 8 PM, when play is occurring.

Prior to the tournament the U.S. Golf Association discussed whether it should ask BNSF to alter its schedules during play to lessen the distraction. The decision was no.

BNSF did ask its engineers to not blow their horns during the open—something they often do at other times when people are on the course.

Seeing the trains roll by made me wonder if there are other golf courses around the world with train tracks nearby. Apparently, there are a few, as the photos below show.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

And
you aren’t driving it; but you can pretend if you’re lucky enough to get a front seat, you’re sitting
in front of the window with a great view.

View from the front window.

I
was in Vancouver recently and had a chance to take the Skytrain. They fully-automated
system has 68.7 kilometres (42.7 miles of track, much of it elevated.

I
was on the Millenium Line because I wanted to go from downtown toCentral Hobbies, Vancouver’s best all-trains hobby shop.

Central Hobbies is easy to see from the station.

The
store is located very near to the Renfrew Station, and right beside the line
leading to Vancouver’s Pacific Station. The line hosts trains from CN, VIA Rail
and Amtrak, and the Rocky Mountaineer.

Two Skytrain lines and the CN mainlineintersect at the Renfrew station.

No
trip to Vancouver is complete without a trip to the harbourfront, where you can
not only see the ships—including cruise ships—but also trains from the West Coast Express, which serves people in the outlying communities.

During the day, the trainsets are parked along the harbourfront, beside the CPR intermodal and grain hopper storage yard.

There are many good reasons to visit Vancouver; sitting in the "driver’s" seat on the Skytrain might be among the best.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

In the 1970s, Canada had a problem—an obsolete grain
car fleet prevented it from winning or fulfilling international grain sales.

In response, the Canadian government, together with
the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta and the Canadian Wheat Board, ordered
12,400 cylindrical hoppers in 1980 to move grain from Canada to port and then
to market.

Today, 35 years later, over 8,400 of these cars—colloquially
called “Trudeau hoppers,” after the name of the Prime Minister at the time they
were ordered—are still in service.

That will begin to change in just over a decade.

According to the recently-released Government of Canada Hopper Car Fleet Annual Report, the fleet of government-owned grain hopper cars will shrink to half
its current size in the next 11 years. The cars will be almost completely eliminated
in 20 years.

According to the report, about 3,400 cars will be scrapped in 2026 or 2027 and most of the rest will be retired between 2032 and 2035.

This will bring an end to a colourful,
conspicuous and unique aspect of Canadian railroading.

Over the past number of decades, these cars
have been rolling advertisements for the country of Canada—especially the ones
with the large word “Canada” on the sides—and for the provinces of Alberta and
Saskatchewan.

The lives of these cars were extended
through an operating agreement in 2007 with CN and the CPR to refurbishing and
upgrade the cars. This extended their service life the maximum of 50 years.

The government provides the cars to CN and the CPR at no cost to move prairie grain to export terminals on the west coast, and the ports of Churchill and Thunder Bay.

In return, the railways manage, maintain, and operate the cars on a day-to-day
basis and are required to ensure sufficient car supply to meet the
transportation needs of shippers.

Considering how ubiquitous these cars are, especially on the prairies, it's hard to imagine a time when they will be gone. But just like forty-foot boxcars and steam locomotives, the day is coming when people will say: "Remember when . . . ?"

About Me

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Click here for an overview of the layout from the December, 2009 Railroad Model Craftsman.
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Click here for a track plan.